Ken Borland

Playing all of their fixtures against the European sides on foreign shores is going to prejudice the hopes of the four South African teams in the Rainbow Cup, but Sharks coach Sean Everitt believes his team should still be competitive given their history of travelling well during SuperRugby.

The Rainbow Cup starts on April 24, with the South African franchises playing local derbies on the first three weekends. They then cross over to the Northern Hemisphere to play the existing Pro14 sides. While the fixtures for Rounds 4-6 have not yet been confirmed due to uncertainty over travel plans, those matches will all definitely be in Europe.

“We only have three domestic games and two of ours are not at Kings Park, but those are the cards we have been dealt and we just have to get on with it. But the Sharks have always travelled well and I expect the same. We will be there for two weeks before our first game so we can get used to conditions and I don’t think conditions will be as severe at the end of May as some people are expecting.

“We are looking forward to the challenge of playing against new teams and creating new memories and great experiences. But I think SuperRugby will be missed because it suited our style of play, we want to attack, it’s in our DNA, and it was a great competition. Our squad will stay the same as now, we’re only allowed to sign 45 players and I think we have to take 42 of them over there,” Everitt said at the weekend.

While the beloved free-flowing play of SuperRugby will be missed, Bulls coach Jake White said some of the less appealing features of the southern hemisphere competition once it expanded – such as the lopsided nature of the draw – will be repeated in the Rainbow Cup.

“We know our first three games are in South Africa so that’s our focus. But it’s not ideal to be playing all the European teams away, especially if conditions get helluva tough. But it’s going to be the same for all the South African sides. The Rainbow Cup is a very unique competition in that you have six games to get into the final and four of ours are away from home.

“But we’re lucky because some teams [the Sharks] have five away games. It’s a great opportunity to prepare for when we actually do play Pro16, but it’s a bit like SuperRugby if you didn’t have the favourable draw. Like if you had to play the Crusaders, Chiefs and Hurricanes away, you had a very much more difficult draw than the teams that played them in South Africa,” White said.

They may not have Quinton de Kock nor Faf du Plessis, but the Titans are not in any way uncomfortable with their absence as they start their CSA T20 Challenge campaign against the Knights at Kingsmead on Friday morning, thanks to the riches in playing depth they have and their unavailability being communicated well in advance.

Even without De Kock, who is on a “mental health break”, and Du Plessis, heading to the Pakistan Super League to join Dale Steyn at the Quetta Gladiators, the Titans have six White Proteas to squeeze into the five slots allowed for them and it seems champion off-spinner Simon Harmer will not be playing in the opening game on Friday, thus allowing batsman Theunis de Bruyn to get a shot. The other White Proteas in the squad are captain Heinrich Klaasen, Aiden Markram, Dean Elgar and Chris Morris, who on Thursday became the most expensive overseas player ever in the IPL.

“We’re probably a bit overstocked to be honest and Quinny and Faf not being available was communicated to us early on. It wouldn’t make sense to force them to play. Quinny was very open and honest with us a while ago that he would need a break after the Pakistan tour and Faf put in his request to skip the competition a while ago too. It doesn’t make sense to force people to play when they’re not in a good space, they’re unlikely to perform well,” Titans CEO Jacques Faul told The Citizen on Thursday.

Pace bowler Kyle Abbott is another conspicuous absentee from the Titans squad having only played the one Momentum One-Day Cup match for them since his high-profile signing. But Faul confirmed they “still have long-term plans” for Abbott, who has played 11 Tests, 28 ODIs and 21 T20s for the Proteas.

The Knights only have three Proteas in their squad – veteran Farhaan Behardien, Pite van Biljon and new international Jacques Snyman, but it is surely only a matter of time before Raynard van Tonder and Migael Pretorus earn their first caps and the Central Franchise are a well-balanced, powerful outfit.

The ability of Ruan Nortje to tear around the rugby field in indefatigable fashion in the heat of summer has been one of the features of the season, but the Bulls lock said on Thursday he was grateful for the Covid-enforced break his team had to take, even though he is well aware and sad for the heartbreak the virus has caused for many.

The Bulls will certainly be relying on Nortje to bring unrelenting work-rate in their Currie Cup semi-final against the Lions in Pretoria next weekend and he is confident he will be firing on all cylinders. The 22-year-old has shown himself to be a player in the same mould as Springbok lock Franco Mostert, who was a key part of the Lions side that dominated local rugby between 2016 and 2018.

“The heat at this time of year definitely gets the better of you sometimes, but thanks to Covid – although I am sad for how much suffering it has caused – I had a really good off time over Christmas with the family, which helped a lot. Now I can prepare well and get my energy right for the semi-finals. I’ve been very blessed with natural fitness, or something like that.

“I’m not sure why I play the way I do, it’s just instinct, it’s how I grew up – just play as hard as possible even though I’m not the biggest guy. When I get on the field, I just want to go. I’m trying to add a bit more meat to my body and our conditioning coach says I mustn’t run as much on my own so I don’t lose weight. But I still run every now and then when I’m off,” Nortje said on Thursday.

And Nortje knows that the focus of the Lions challenge will be up front – in the scrums and lineouts. The Bulls struggled in those departments when they played their Gauteng neighbours last week and were trailing 9-0 after the first quarter. But the pack then stood up and led the SuperRugby Unlocked champions to a 22-15 win and ensured first place on the log and home advantage for the semi-final and final (if they qualify).

“The Lions have a very good scrum and lineout and they will definitely target us in those facets again. So it’s for us to put in the hard work over the next week to counter them. It’s the knockout rounds now so it’s a new game and we’ve put the previous game behind us. The Lions are a very good side, they can beat anyone on their day, so we’ve put a bit more focus on our systems and processes.

“To make the Currie Cup final would mean the world to me. As a little boy, we didn’t have DsTV, so we would go to my grandfather for prime time and watch the Bulls and every final. It was such a special time and I would kick the water bottle around in the garden. I guess I was imagining myself more as a flyhalf back then, kicking the winning penalty goal,” the two-metre, 113kg Wonderboom dynamo said.

Barring the sporting equivalent of a miracle or the intervention of the weather, the Imperial Lions are well on their way to a second successive victory in their 4-Day Domestic Series match against the Warriors in Port Elizabeth.

The Lions took their first innings score to 389 all out on the second morning on Tuesday and then a fine all-round bowling display saw the Warriors skittled for just 118.

Tladi Bokako set the tone up front with brilliant figures of 13-5-14-2, but he had excellent support from Delano Potgieter (2-22) and Malusi Siboto (2-40) and Sisanda Magala wrapped up the innings with three for 37.

Leading by 271 runs, the Lions then reached 125 for three by stumps, with Wesley Marshall following up his superb 145 in the first innings with a fluent 48 off 60 balls, with 10 fours. Ryan Rickelton (32*) and Wiaan Mulder (23*) then added 40 before close of play.

Already 396 runs ahead, the Lions will be contemplating a declaration sometime on Wednesday that will give them almost a day-and-a-half in which to bowl out the Warriors a second time.

Aiden Markram has already shown that his game has all the equipment needed to succeed at Test level and the 26-year-old definitely also has the confidence and form to ensure he will soon be opening the batting again for the Proteas as he led a decent Titans batting effort on the second day of their match against the Cape Cobras at Centurion.

Markram followed up his century in each innings last week against the Warriors with a classy 80 not out that led the Titans to 136 for one when lighting and rain ended play just before 4pm. He collected 13 fours and was particularly authoritative on the drive.

He received strong support from Neil Brand (38*) as the pair added 104 for the second wicket after Corbin Bosch had produced a brute of a delivery that brushed the glove of Dean Elgar to have him caught in the slips for 9.

The Cobras began the day on 351 for five and took their score to 411 all out, with all-rounder Calvin Savage scoring a useful 40 and Bosch adding 28.

Thando Ntini finished with three for 66 and there were two wickets apiece for Lizaad Williams and Okuhle Cele.

In Durban, the Knights have erased the Dolphins’ considerable first-innings lead of 137 with just two wickets down as they reached stumps at the halfway stage of their game on 150 for two.

Opener Matthew Kleinveldt is doing a great job for the Knights on 67 not out, but the Dolphins have picked up a key wicket with Raynard van Tonder being caught at silly mid-off off left-arm spinner Senuran Muthusamy for 46 shortly before bad light stopped play.

The Dolphins had earlier reached 253 all out in their first innings thanks to Grant Roelofsen’s tenacious 73 and Prenelan Subrayen’s hard-fought 44, a crucial contribution considering the Dolphins were 169 for seven when he came to the crease. Fast bowler Daryn Dupavillon backed up his seven wickets with a useful innings of 19 as he and Subrayen added 40 for the ninth wicket.

Paceman Gerald Coetzee and off-spinner Patrick Botha took three wickets apiece.